Clothes hanger



June 11, 1963 T. VOLKER ETAL CLOTHES HANGER Filed July 15, 1960 TRILLIS 1 0/16? AND VELMA BRINK IN VEN TORS.

3,093,276 CLOTHES HANGER Trillis Volker and Velma Brink, both Haas-Aquila, 16th at Douglas St, Gmaha, Nehr. Filed July 15, 1960, Ser. No. 43,209 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 223-93) This invention relates to clothes hangers and more particularly the object of this invention is to provide a type of hanger having clasping means on the upper side of the hanger for retaining clothes on the hanger, and in which the clasps are particularly recessed in accordance with our new concept for making a hanger equally useable as a clasping hanger and as a conventional hanger.

Heretofore, hangers have been made with clasping means on the upper sides, however such hangers have had the disadvantage that when clothes are placed on them, the clasping means distort and wrinkle the clothes by holding them in unnatural shapes whereby, for example, a dress may have become wrinkled in such storage.

Apart from permanent wrinkles there is also the temporary distorted appearance caused by clasping means protruding out from prior art clasping hangers.

It is, therefore, our new concept to have the clasps recessed and also it is an object to have the outer surfaces of the clasps extending along the same lines and substantially flush with the upper garment supporting edge of the hanger for providing a substantially continuous garment supporting surface.

in the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a hanger made in accordance with this invention. An open position of the clasp being shown in dotted lines.

The hanger of this invention has as its basis a substantially conventional hanger having a hook and a garment supporting section or base 12 suspended from the hook 10 and having arms with upper edges 14 and 16 extending generally downwardly and outwardly from the hook 10.

Elongated hook members or clips 30 are arranged in recesses 2% which are themselves elongated. Clamping means is disposed in each of said recesses and the major element of such clamping means is elongated as are the hook members in the direction of the respective upper ed e.

Considerable means are provided for pivotally mounting each clip member on the supporting section 12 in a way permitting the clip members 30 to rock upwardly and downwardly at their ends. Such means preferably is formed by having an upwardly protruded central portion 34 in the bottom wall 36 of each recess 20.

Springs 40 are provided for engaging clip members 30 and supporting portion 12 to press that end of each clip member 30 which is farthest from hook 10* against the bottom of the respective recess 20 for clasping a garment not shown there between.

The spring members 40 have a coiled center section and each have one end 42 extending through a horizontal disposed opening 44 in the garment supporting portion 12, and each spring has another end 46 extending upwardly and horizontally across the top of the outer end of the respective clip 30, being received in a suitable recess 48 in the outer portions of the clips 30.

The upper edge of each clip 30 preferably extends continuously with or flush with the respective edge 14 or 16 of the garment supporting portion 12 of the hanger so as to hold an article of clothing in a natural shape for effective and attractive display during sales. It will be seen 3,693,276 Patented June 11, 19613 ice that the clip member 30 in combination with its spring 40 and in further combination with the bottom of the recess, altogether form a clamping means for gripping the shoulder portion of garments, as the term clamping means is used in the claim.

It will be seen that the springs 40 bias the outer ends of the clips 30 downwardly against the base 12, whereby the outer ends serve to apply a downward gripping force against a garment portion disposed between the outer ends of the clips 30 and the base 12.

Particularly it will be seen that the upper surfaces of those inner portions of the clips which are disposed close to the hook 110 are disposed substantially fiush with those portions of the respective elongated upper surfaces 14 of the base which latter surfaces are disposed on the hook side of the recesses 36 respectively.

It will be seen that the base 12 has upper outer surface portions 60 disposed outwardly of the recesses 20* on the sides thereof away from the hook 16, which outer surface portions 60 are substantially smooth as seen from a side of said base. The clip members 39 and the base 12 thereby define cooperative members having pairs of mutually engageable surfaces which latter are the undersurfaces of the outer ends of the clips and the respective surfaces 74 of the outer ends of the recesses 20. It will be seen that the mutually engageable surfaces 70 and 74 are disposed respectively generally at the outer ends of the clip members 30. One of each pair of engageable surfaces being other than smoothly continuous with the adjacent outer upper surface 60 of the respective clip member or base respectively, and more particularly being transverse to that surface of the respective cooperating member on which the said one engageable surface is located for assisting the gripping force of the clip for holding a garment in place between the engageable surfaces 70 and 74.

The preferable form is as shown in FIGURE 1 in which the surface 74 of the recess is the surface which forms that one of each pair of engageable surfaces 70 and 74 which one surface 74 is transverse to that surface 60 of the re cess cooperating member, base 12, on which the said one engageable surface 74 is located.

From the foregoing specification it will become apparent that the invention disclosed will adequately accomplish the functions for which it has been designed and in an economical manner and its simplicity, accuracy, and ease of operation are such as to provide a relatively inexpensive device considering what it will accomplish and that it will find an important place in the art to which it appertains when once placed on the market.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Changes in shape, size, and arrangement of details and parts such as come within the purview of the invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice if desired.

We claim:

In combination: a clothes hanger having a hook and a garment shoulder supporting section suspended from said hook and having two upper surfaces generally extending downwardly and out-wardly therefrom on each of two opposite sides thereof respectively, said supporting section having recesses in its upper surfaces respectively on each side of said hook, clamping means disposed in said recesses respectively, said clamping means having clip members which are elongated in the direction of the respective upper surface of said garment shoulder-supporting section, and said clamping means being adapted to 3 4 grip portions of garments, the under surface of the outer References Cited in the file of this patent end of each said clip members serving as a gripping sur- UNITED STATES PATENTS face for garment engagement, the upper surfaces of said clip members being substantially flush With the respec- 1,712,899 Nickerson May 14, 1929 tive upper surfaces of said garment shoulder supporting 5 1,906,058 Gray Apr. 25, 1933 section. 2,015,281 Obrow Sept. 24, 1935 

